Moot decries govt inaction over 7,700 Pakistanis languishing in foreign jails

Karachi

Around 7,700 Pakistani nationals are languishing in jails of various countries but the ministries concerned are not making any serious efforts to ensure their release.

This was stated by human rights activists on Saturday at a dialogue titled “Pakistani citizens imprisoned overseas”. 

The event was jointly organised by the Lawyers’ Congress, a group of lawyers working on the release of Pakistani prisoners abroad, and the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, a fishermen rights body. The head of the Lawyers’ Congress, Zulfiqar Jehangir Advocate, said thousands of Pakistani citizens were incarcerated abroad for different reasons. “Most of the detainees end up behind bars en route to Europe illegally in search of a bright future,” he said.

Statistics collected from the ministry of foreign affairs and embassies were shared by office- bearers of the Lawyers’ Congress. According to the statistics, 1,920 and 1,800 Pakistani nationals have been imprisoned in jails of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emiratesm, respectively. Around 629 Pakistani prisoners are detained in jails of Oman. Another 335 Pakistanis are imprisoned in the United Kingdom, 102 are incarcerated in the United States and 206 are languishing in Chinese jails. More than 400 Pakistani fishermen are in Indian jails.

The number of Pakistanis imprisoned in Afghanistan is 346, 274 in Australia and Austria, 64 in Azerbaijan and Bahrain, 256 in Bangladesh and Iran, eight in Belgium, 17 in Canada, 95 in Denmark and France, 16 in Germany, 70 in Greece, 129 in Ireland and Italy, 87 in Iraq, 265 in Kuwait, 225 in Malaysia, 146 in Spain, 56 in Sri Lanka and 60 people are behind bars in Turkey.

Zulfiqar Shah, joint director of the Pakistan Institute of Labour, Education and Research, said the government should formulate a policy for the protection and release of Pakistani nationals imprisoned abroad. “Instead of getting released one or two prisoners on the appeals of human rights bodies, it is the responsibilities of two ministries — foreign affairs and internal affairs — to play their due roles in the release of Pakistani prisoners abroad,” he said. “But sadly the Pakistani embassies, instead of making an effort for releasing its nationals, are only busy in providing protocols to the visiting Pakistani dignitaries.”

Muhammad Ali Shah, the head of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, demanded from the Indian and Pakistani authorities for a peaceful resolution of the issue of the detention of fishermen from both countries. “They are not criminals. But the poor men are behind bars for allegedly violating the unmarked sea-territory on both sides,” he said.

He announced that his organisation would organise an international conference and invite people from South Asian countries to highlight the plight of fishermen languishing in jails of different countries of the region.

Also present at the dialogue was DIG Jails Muzaffar Alam Siddiqui, who claimed that the authorities treated the Indian fisherman leniently. “We distinguish the newly admitted prisoners and separate Indian fishermen from other professional criminals,” he said. “We also care about their environment and food according to their religious beliefs.”

Supreme Court Bar Association leader Asad Manzoor Butt and human rights activist Abira Ashfaq also spoke to the gathering while a number of relatives of Pakistani prisoners were also present.